다양한 관절 구성을 위한 모듈라 매니퓰레이터의 관절 및 링크 모듈 형상 도출

Abstract

A modular manipulator in serial-chain structure usually consists of a series of modularized revolute joint and link modules. The geometric shapes of these modules affect the number of possible configurations of modular manipulator after assembly. Therefore, it is important to design the geometry of the joint and link modules that allow various configurations of the manipulators with minimal set of modules. In this paper, a new 1-DoF(degree of freedom) joint module and simple link modules are designed based on a methodology of joint configurations using a series of Rotational(type-R) and Twist(type-T) joints. Two of the joint modules can be directly connected so that two types of 2-DoFs joints could be assembled without a link module between them. The proposed geometries of joint and link modules expand the possible configurations of assembled modular manipulators compared to existing ones. Modular manipulator system of this research can be a cornerstone of user-centered markets with various solution but low-cost, compared to conventional manipulators of fixed-configurations determined by the provider.